We don’t have to wait too much longer now. The Atlanta Falcons spent an entire season winning football games while acknowledging success was hollow if they failed in January. That realization created a muted environment in Atlanta, a four-month preamble to the real thing. The regular season became the preseason.

There will be no celebration for the NFL’s all-time leading receiver at tight end if Tony Gonzalez’s last game is on Sunday. There will only be crushing disappointment if Gonzalez suffers another first playoff game loss. “For me, obviously, this could be it,” Gonzalez said via the Associated Press.

Not to take anything away from Russell Wilson and all he’s accomplished in his rookie season, but Marshawn Lynch is the key to offensive success against the Atlanta Falcons in Sunday’s Divisional Round showdown. The breakdown is quite simple: over the last six games, Lynch averaged 111.8 rush yards per game with eight touchdown, including seven rushing.